didn’t they tell us sooner?” stakeholders wonder.
“What else have they been hiding? If we’d known
sooner, we could have adapted our plans.” A project
to expand chemical processes at a manufacturing
plant succumbed to the cycle of doubt when the
project leader misrepresented the project’s status,
communicating that the project was going “great”
when, in reality, there were product-design flaws that
compromised safety. Eventually, the problems came
to light (as they usually do), and key contributors
quickly distanced themselves from the project.

In contrast, another executive we interviewed recounted an enterprise-wide reorganization and
downsizing project in a global manufacturing company. The executive repeatedly emphasized with his
team only one theme in terms of how communication
would happen: “When you carry information out or
bring information in, think ‘no surprises.’ I will accept
good and bad news just the same, but I want accurate
news.” This credo served the project and the organization well. Despite the obvious challenges of generating
buy-in from site managers who would be involved in
shuttering 15 of the company’s 22 manufacturing facilities, direct and honest communications ensured
that the project did not stall and maintained a positive
reputation trajectory. In the end, strategic objectives
were achieved on time, and the company’s profits increased by 30% as a result of the plant closures.

• Engage in dialogue. During a project’s often
lengthy delivery phase, project leaders must systematically solicit stakeholder input, listen authentically,
and, when possible, take appropriate action. 16 For the
project leader, managing feedback from broad and
often geographically far-flung constituencies can be
challenging, as not every team member or stakeholder will concur on the issues that require attention
or contribute with recommendations of equal value.
The project leader must exercise both technical and
political discretion in implementing only those
changes that move the project forward and enhance
its reputation, while at the same time showing respect
to those whose ideas did not translate into action.

A project leader who embraces authentic listen-ing can transform project detractors into projectadvocates. Team members working on an asset-reporting project at a global finance company dis-engaged when they became discouraged by theprotracted lead times involved in implementingneeded IT changes. Adding to this already difficult sit-uation, a vocal detractor emerged from outside theteam, further dampening enthusiasm and erodingwhat little support and momentum remained. In aneffort to pull out of the cycle of doubt, the projectleader listened sincerely and patiently to the detrac-tor’s concerns and, contrary to conventional wisdom,shared them directly with the eight-person core team.The resulting forum and feedback shone a light on le-gitimate unresolved issues, which the team discussedand addressed collectively. The process affirmed theconcerns of the project detractor who, having beencredited publicly for important contributions, piv-oted from a negative position to that of an avid projectsupporter. As one interviewee observed, when the sit-uation is managed right, “the most difficult peoplecan become surprisingly great assets to a project.”• Maintain a regular rhythm of communication.Some project leaders are reticent to communicate neg-ative information. Silence exacerbates an alreadychallenging situation by creating an information vac-uum that engenders distrust and raises questions aboutthe integrity of the project leader and team. As one in-terviewee remarked, “No news is bad news.” Thisproject leader was responsible for shutting down a400-employee, medical device plant and moving 15product lines to other facilities. Knowing that lapses incommunication would lead others to fill the void withrumors, he issued regular weekly updates. The projectleader understood that if you do not manage your mes-sage, someone else will. In addition, as soon as there wasan inkling of unexpected challenges — in one case,plants receiving handoffs did not have the capacityneeded for them — he disseminated informationquickly, before the bad news was leaked and distorted.

A steady communication tempo helps sustain
stakeholder interest. At the same time, project leaders
must recognize that efforts to keep stakeholders informed (even with positive news) can go overboard,
resulting in “attention burnout,” even among enthusiastic stakeholders. When the unanticipated departure
of a powerful sponsor began to erode support and interest in a strategically vital, lean-manufacturing
project at a Fortune 100 global technology company,
the project leader began holding “Site Communication Days.” The project leader delivered the same
message about the project’s importance and progress
in a series of face-to-face sessions to 10 groups of 30,